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Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Eric Lauritzen points to a map of website that helps people track pesticide use near their schools. Lauritzen, who will be taking a job with the state Department of Pesticide Regulation, was praised for his work on the project. (David Royal - Monterey Herald file)

Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Eric Lauritzen will be taking a job with the Department of Pesticide Regulation. (David Royal - Monterey Herald file)

Salinas >> Labor and business representatives said Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Eric Lauritzen will leave big shoes to fill when he takes a job with the state Department of Pesticide Regulation later this month.

Lauritzen was appointed agricultural commissioner and sealer of weights and measures in 1998 after serving as Sonoma County agricultural commissioner, San Mateo County deputy agricultural commissioner and an agricultural biologist in Alameda County. He will be filling a newly created job with the state, where he will work as an executive adviser on programs and issues critical to the Department of Pesticide Regulation.

“The position will focus on pesticide program effectiveness and needs assessment, working with agricultural commissioner’s offices on California’s central coast,” Lauritzen said in a prepared statement. “This is an exciting opportunity for me to draw upon my local experience and make a broader contribution to the best state pesticide regulatory program in the nation.”

Jim Bogart, president of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, said there’s probably nobody who has worked longer or more closely with Lauritzen than he has over the past 20 years.

“He’s been a wonderful agricultural commissioner,” Bogart said. “He will be missed tremendously in that position. I’m happy we’ll still be able to work with him at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Eric has a national reputation among agricultural commissioners.”

Agriculture supplies a majority of jobs in the county. According to Lauritzen, the county received a 2017 Challenge Award from the California State Association of Counties for outstanding innovation in the category of agriculture, environment and natural resources for the creation of the Farmworker Advisory Committee. He mentioned the committee when bringing up the highlights of his time as Monterey County agricultural commissioner.

“This collaboration between my office and farmworker leaders is the first such initiative launched in California and provides a strong voice for those who work so diligently to bring food to our tables,” he said.

Cesar Lara, executive director of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, said he was “so sad” to see Lauritzen leave. Lara said while the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, which counts the United Farm Workers as a member organization, would have to push Lauritzen at times, he would listen to input from labor leaders and environmentalists.

“(In 2014), the Department of Pesticide Regulation did a statewide report that showed Monterey County had the worst exposure to pesticides around schools,” Lara said. “So we did a campaign to change that. It took a lot of work of pushing him to come to the table, but he came to the table and we negotiated a pilot program in Pajaro. Part of that is a notification program and a website for parents and those that care to have the background about it.”

Bogart called the Farmworker Advisory Committee unprecedented and mentioned some of the same accomplishments as Lara in discussing Lauritzen’s tenure. Bogart pointed to the crop report Lauritzen would unveil annually as evidence of the agriculture industry’s importance to the county. The value of Monterey County’s agriculture crops set a record of $4.84 billion in 2015, before taking a dip to $4.25 billion in 2016.

“The agriculture industry works with the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office very closely on a variety of issues and it’s been a pleasure to work with Eric (Lauritzen) and it’s been a very productive working relationship with the Ag Commissioner’s Office over the last 20 years,” he said.

Maia Carroll, a spokeswoman for Monterey County, said Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Bob Roach typically takes over when Lauritzen is away. Lauritzen will be on vacation until leaving his post Nov. 17. She said the process to replace Lauritzen is unclear at this early point, but County Administrative Officer Lew Bauman likely will make that determination in the coming weeks as well as deciding if the position will be filled on interim basis.

“Whoever’s going to take over is going to have big shoes to fill,” Lara said. “We’re hoping to continue the forward momentum.”